School gets renovated bridge

CONCERNED for the safety of the students of Pg DiGadong Hj Mohammad Salleh Religious Primary School in Sungai Kedayan 'B', the Brunei-Muara District Office took the initiative to renovate the run-down bridge linking the school with the main street near the Yayasan Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Shopping Complex.

"It took three days for the department in charge to renovate the bridge," Hj Maidin Mustapa, the special duty officer of Brunei-Muara District Office, said yesterday.

He said the project cost the department $6,000 to finish the renovation work.

Hj Maidin further said that this project was part of their "work programme" for the year 2009-2010 to ensure any major renovation that should be made accordingly in the district.

He added that they had been doing monitoring to update any necessary major renovation of bridges especially those at the Kampong Ayer area.

Teachers of the school have recently voiced their concern for the safety of their students to The Brunei Times.

Norhalina Hj Amai, the school principal, said early this month that the bridge had been in a near-collapsing situation since five years ago before she was transferred to the school.

Since being posted to the school in August last year, few efforts had been made to refurbish the bridge, she said.

According to Hj Maidin, they made the bridge renovation a priority because the students had been forced to make a detour to another bridge which has a longer distance from the school. This bridge has no side rails on it and this made it risky for the children to use especially during rainy season.

School Principal Norhalina Hj Amai told The Brunei Times yesterday that the District Office help increased the safety standard of the school and "teachers here now are feeling more secure when ever they see students using the bridge as it looks much tougher now".

"Now the students from the Bandar area could have a shorter distance by using this bridge to the school without having to make a detour anymore," she said. Hj Maidin said that it was however, everyone's responsibility to maintain the facilities which had been provided by the government.

He said that the residents at the Kampong Ayer should also play their part in reducing the use of government's expenses for the facilities maintenance.

He called on some local people to stop their habit of riding scooters and bicycles along the bridge so as to maintain the life span of its woods. "Flower pots must not be placed on the bridge as it will make the wood plank damp and rotten," he said.

Hjh Masnah Hj Metusin, assistant officer of the Department of Islamic Studies, told The Brunei Times that they really appreciated the effort made by the Brunei-Muara District Office to improve the safety standard of the school. (BPA1)

The Brunei Times